Vinicius has gone 15 games without scoring in all competitions, with his last goals coming in October, but Bellingham said the numbers did not reflect the Brazilian's true influence on matches.

"I think that Vini is under a huge amount of pressure as a player and as a person," Bellingham said at a pre-match press conference. "All of the stuff that he does on the pitch is through pure emotion and sometimes you forget that it's a human doing those things."

The England midfielder accepted that the scrutiny around Vinicius, both on and off the pitch, could affect confidence in front of goal. The winger had shown visible frustration in recent weeks, reacting angrily to substitutions and decisions from officials.

"I think that does add to the pressure and maybe creates a bit of a block of form in front of goal," Bellingham explained. "But when I play with him, I still see an electric player. I can give him the ball and he can create something out of nothing. Goals probably don't tell the full story."

Bellingham stressed that the squad had a responsibility to support Vinicius, who finished second in the 2024 Ballon d'Or voting.

"When he's at his best, we're a much better team," he said. "He's frightening. In any way we can support him, that's our job. I'm sure he'll get back to his best, one hundred percent."

He also dismissed any suggestion that Vinicius was harming the team. "If I ever felt he was hurting us, I'd tell him. But I don't think that at all. He's had a blank spell, that's it."

Across the city divide, Atletico captain Koke offered similar backing to Julian Alvarez, who had scored twice in his previous 10 matches. "Big players appear when you need them most," Koke said. "Tomorrow is an important day."

Alvarez, signed from Manchester City in August 2024 for an initial fee of seventy-five million euros, had scored 11 goals in 24 games this season, and Atletico hoped he would deliver again on the big stage.

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